Market Watch

Safety Information

Use of omeprazole and clopidogrel combination therapy should be avoided, according to new data from the FDA.18 Current data suggest that clopidogrel’s antiplatelet effect may be hindered by 50% with concomitant omeprazole therapy. Omeprazole blocks the conversion of clopidogrel to its active, antiplatelet form, thus significantly decreasing its effectiveness. It is not known if other proton-pump inhibitors interfere with clopidogrel’s effectiveness. Other drugs that should not be used with clopidogrel include esomeprazole (Nexium), cimetidine (Tagamet and Tagamet HB), fluconazole (Diflucan), ketoconazole (Nizoral), voriconazole (VFEND), etravirine (Intelence), felbamate (Felbatol), fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem, and Symbyax), fluvoxamine (Luvox), and ticlopidine (Ticlid). TH

Michele B. Kaufman is a freelance medical writer based in New York City and a clinical pharmacist at New York Downtown Hospital.

References

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